Policy decisions can wait…..

Eerie calm has been prevailing in Kashmir for the past maydays. Speculations are rife that the Article 35A, which defines permanentresidents of Jammu and Kashmir, could be scrapped.

There has been no official word about the Articles 35A and370 but the senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who was on 2-day visit toKashmir, on Saturday said that as of now BJP has no plans to see Article 35Ascrapped. The top security officials maintained that deployment of additional10,000 troops in Kashmir is a “routine exercise” and people should not getpanicked.

   

Petitions challenging the validity of the Article 35A arepending before the Supreme Court and the matter is sub-judice. The Governmentof India will have to wait for the Apex Court’s decision before taking any callon its own.

If this vital Article is scrapped there is every possibilityabout the decision evoking sharp reactions in the Valley as it’s an emotionalissue for the people of Kashmir. Unfortunately few news channels and mediaorganisations are adding fuel to the fire by blowing this issue out ofproportion. Someone needs to tell these people that Kashmiris have been livingwith India for the past seven decades and they have accepted J&K’saccession with the union long back. It’s unfortunate that by resorting to suchtactics these channels and media outlets are trying to provoke the people andare hell bent upon demonizing Kashmiris.

The government of the day needs to reassure the peoplerather than remaining silent. People of Kashmir have been facing tremendoushardships for the past many years and they need a respite. Controversies won’thelp anyone’s cause.

Kashmiri leaders need to behave more responsibly. It’s hightime for Kashmiri politicians to get united and convey it to the Government ofIndia that everyone needs to be taken on board before taking any crucialdecision.

At present Jammu and Kashmir is directly under President’srule and New Delhi can take any decision vis-a-vis Kashmir but one fails tounderstand why the GoI wants to stir the hornet’s nest at this point of timewhen normalcy is slowly returning to Kashmir.

It appears that everyone in New Delhi has joined the clamourto resolve the Kashmir problem once for all. A notion is being created that byscrapping Articles 35A and 370 this problem could be resolved once for all. Thethink tanks sitting in Delhi need to ponder upon the fact would scrapping thespecial status of Jammu and Kashmir really help in resolving the Kashmir issue?Someone needs to tell them that there is nothing much left in the Articles 370and 35A. These Articles have been eroded to a great extent during all theseyears. Irony is that the ones who eroded these Articles in the past areprojecting themselves as Messiahs of the people and are swearing by the specialstatus of the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA regime which returned topower for the second consecutive term with a thumping majority needs to worktowards bringing the people of Kashmir closer. Pushing them away will add toalienation.  Kashmir problem cannot beresolved by scrapping the special status of the state. It can be resolved bydoing something for the youth who have been left to fend for themselves by thesuccessive regimes.  

Kashmir is only place in the country where BJP has not beenable to make its presence felt by winning any Parliamentary or Assembly seat.The BJP leadership needs to think about making the party strong in the Valleyrather than raking up the controversial issues. It looks like that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s message of sab ka saath, sab ka vikas is yet to reachthe Valley.

There are many unaddressed issues which need immediateattention. Many areas are without basic amenities for the past seven decadesand the unemployment has added to the miseries of the people. These issuestouch the skin of a common man in Kashmir and have to be addressed without anydelay. People of Kashmir need a respite and the rulers need to give it athought. Policy decisions can wait till normalcy in Kashmir is restored fully.

(The writer is a former journalist , fellow InternationalPeace Studies and member of JK Youth Alliance)

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